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The Trophy has come under fire from some fans, with some Imps supporters already vowing to boycott the competition.

But Cowley insists he is relishing leading the Imps in it and, with a Wembley final at stake, has vowed to take it seriously.

“We’re looking forward to entering it,” said Cowley. “Personally, I see it as exciting. It will give us additional games and there is now more flexibility with regards to team selection.

“The opportunity to play against development squads from Premier League clubs will be good. It’s also good for the players in those development squads to play against senior players. So I think it works on every level.

Coventry celebrate winning last season's Checkatrade Trophy

“I don’t really know why it hasn’t caught the imagination of the supporters. But at the same time, there’s an opportunity to play at Wembley.

“Having been managers who have got a game away from Wembley on five occasions and never quite got there, it’s something we would like to achieve.

“So we’ll approach it with the same thought process that we do for every cup competition.

“Like last season, when the games come around and it’s a game we can win, we’ll be doing everything we can to win it.”

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The competition was traditionally reserved for third and fourth tier clubs but last season, for the first time, Premier League and Championship clubs with Category One academies were invited to take part.

The new format, which included a group phase, attracted criticism from some supporters and many games were watched by derisory crowds, although last season’s final between Coventry City and Oxford United at Wembley drew a crowd of more than 70,000.

In the summer, Football League clubs voted on the future of the competition.